The True American Soldier
by mimoxtreemo
Summary: Alfred F. Jones is trying to forget his old fighting life and has retreated to normal life as a country representative. However, when an unexpected visitor recruits him, his nearly 70 years of peace is disturbed. AU, May include pairings later on,
1. Chapter 1

**A****/****N****: ****Welcome ****readers****, ****to ****my ****first ****Avengers****/****Hetalia ****fic****. ****I****'****m ****gonna ****keep ****this ****note ****short****, ****but ****please ****be ****free ****to ****rate****/****review ****as ****you ****feel ****the ****need ****to****. ****And ****please ****be ****nice ****by ****trying ****not ****to ****flame ****or ****anything ^^**

**Anyways****, ****um****, ****read ****ahead****! ****Unfortunately****, ****I ****do ****not ****own ****Hetalia****: ****Axis ****Powers****, ****nor ****do ****I ****own ****The ****Avengers ****or ****anything ****involved ****in ****the ****Marvel ****universe****, ****both ****belong ****to ****their ****respective ****owners****.**

_February__ 1941_

_Shit__, __I__'__m __gonna __be __late__!_ A young man raced down the chilly sidewalks of Washington, D.C, abruptly turning corners and carefully weaving through crowds crossing the streets. His blonde hair moved with the wind, particularly a certain blonde strand that refused to obey the laws of gravity. He wore a pair of gray slacks with a white shirt and a tan sweater, topped with a blue blazer and a red bow tie. The blonde frantically looked at his watch, hoping his boss wouldn't mind a slight delay in their private meeting. _Let__'__s __see__, __one __turn __to __the __right__, __and __I__'__ll __be __there__... __or __is __it __left__? _

Alfred felt a light tap on the shoulder. "Young man, you look awfully confused. Do you need help?"

Confused, he started to turn around, "Er, n-no, but thanks for the- Eleanor! Um, I mean, Mrs. Roosevelt! Didn't expect to see you out on the streets, ma'am..."

The First Lady simply smiled. "Not unless I live right down there, Alfred," she stated, pointing out the direction from which the young man had just come.

"I-I ran right past it...?" he mumbled, looking back in dismay.

"Don't worry, you navigated yourself most of the way, right?" the woman smiled again, offering her hand. "Here, I'll be your escort, if you wish."

o~o~o

"It's been a while, Mr. Jones." Alfred's boss greeted him as he took a seat.

"Yeah, I've been pretty busy these days. World meetings somehow became more of a pain in the ass than they already were," he laughed, trying to lighten the mood. Of course, a meeting with the President could never be too casual.

"Well, world affairs aren't exactly the best around now..." Roosevelt said in a more serious tone. "Not many people can fix that, but being at war has definitely taken a toll on our people."

"It looks like it has... there's so many soldiers out there still suffering, and it kind of makes me wonder what I should be doing, seeing as they do so much for us..." Alfred looked away for a moment before saying anything else. He never really liked to talk about wars too much, because the thoughts only caused him to remember the past... He shook his head, trying not to think of that at a time like this. _W__hat__'__s __the __point __of __thinking __about __the __past __if __you __can__'__t __see __what__'__s __ahead __of __you__?_ After a moment of silence, a chuckled escaped the blonde's mouth.

"What was that, Alfred?"

He smiled sadly. "It's nothing, it's just that when I was younger I thought it would be amazing if there was some sort of legend that would try to help others out willingly, and everyone would look up to it. The legend would become more confident as more people believed in him... I used to hear stories like that all the time, and even though they were made up, I kind of wanted to be a legend like that, with everyone putting their faith in me. I guess now that would only happen in some superhero comic..."

The President nodded knowingly, then suddenly stopped and looked at Alfred with what looked like a thoughtful face. "You know, Alfred, that is quite brilliant... and that's just what we need..."

"What do you mean, sir?

"Someone for everyone to look up to. Almost like a beacon of hope..." Roosevelt pondered more.

"...Why are you looking at me like that? Y-you know I wouldn't fit a job like-"

"Think about it, Alfred. You're physically fit, you have experience, you have charisma... and you won't go down easily... You would be just the type of person the people can trust!"

The blonde gulped. "I-I don't know if I want to be that sort of hero though...if I was only fighting, how would any of those other qualities apply?"

"You would show true virtue for your country. The model citizen. Super America Man, or The Great Patriot... Captain America! Someone people would remember! And you could keep your true identity to yourself and your friends, while the nation - perhaps the world would know you by your new, catchy name."

"But I haven't needed to publicize my current job, and I still do the same guardian thing."

"_Exactly__!_ Someone with so much experience in the field is bound to do well with this!"

"Mr, Roosevelt, I don't want to fight. I guess it would be cool to protect people, but the way I see it, a 'super soldier' would do more protecting people than entertaining them..."

Franklin Roosevelt rested his head on a single hand as he leant across the desk. "Alfred, my boy, think about the reputation you'll have. You would inspire millions of people in the country, perhaps more around the world. You can help people, Alfred. Think about it."

o~o~o

_March__ 1945_

Alfred stood in the center of the room, surrounded by Washington's top military officers, each looking at him with an almost identical face of stoic disapproval. "Do you guys plan on speaking, or are you just gonna sit on your lazy asses and wait for me to do something, like you normally do?"

The man in the center, probably the one in charge, took a step forward. "Steve here is that mighty American soldier we've been relying on for the past four years," he announced," Captain America himself." Alfred internally groaned at the use of his public name, Steve Rogers. Four years past, he had been known as either Captain America or Steve Rogers, and he rarely met the people who knew him by his real name anymore.

A few years back, he was put under the judgemental eye of the military, since he needed to be "put to use for the American cause" - in other words, fight the war. Things worked differently in the military than how his job worked at first. His military life made his job suddenly more intense, and every mistake he made was observed with a careful eye. None of the military officers actually knew about what Alfred represented, and they instead tested him more to find out why he was getting special treatment.

Alfred was snapped back into reality when the head guy took three steps closer to him. "Now, _Steve_, I've been noticing things about you... you've been slacking off an awful lot, and your records aren't nearly as great as they should be. Care to explain?"

"Care to explain why I've been treated like a fucking weapon ever since I've been forced into this hellhole of a military?"

"Watch your mouth, soldier. You didn't answer my question."

"Am I allowed to get older? It just happens, you get older, and your metabolism decreases. What's the big deal anyways? I've still been getting a hell of a lot of work done for your sorry ass. What would you do without me?" the young man challenged.

The chief commander chuckled as he walked from side to side in front of Alfred. "Fun little fact, soldier. We've been testing you for a reason. How do you think we caught every little flaw? Or were you too full of yourself to notice?"

"For what...?"

"The perfect killing machine," the older man said smoothly with an evil grin wrinkling his face. "See, we've been observing you for quite some time, so long that, in fact, we were able to build a prototype that can do the same amount of fighting at the same level as you, if not higher."

Alfred froze, unable to think of what to say. _They __plan __to __replace __me __with __a _machine_? __They__'__ve __only __been __using m__e __as __a __stand__-__in__?_

"So, in reality, Mr. Rogers, you haven't been that important to us at all. Once we get this machine up and running, we won't need you anymore."

There was silence for a moment, and suddenly Alfred lashed out against the officer. "So what was the point of calling me here like this then? Were you even planning on telling me this before I brought it up?!" In a swift movement, the blonde pulled the commander up by his collar.

"Don't choke someone of a higher status than you, soldier," he coughed out, only to be held tighter by Alfred's hands.

"At this point, sir, I don't give a fuck. I'm done with this job. I've been your dog for too long now. I'm not dealing with this any longer, especially if I can be replaced by some damned robot."

"Fine then, Alfred. It's not like we needed you much longer anyways." The commander smirked as Alfred punched him in the face and stormed out of the room.

o~o~o

_Present_

"Dammit, why can't I beat this level?" Alfred shouted at the TV.

Matthew appeared from the kitchen doorway around the corner. "Maybe if you didn't spend so much of your effort yelling at inanimate objects, you would have a better time concentrating..."

"S-shut up! Yelling helps me vent!"

"But yelling also disturbs the sleep of everyone living within a mile's radius of your apartment..."

"D'you say something, dude?"

Matthew sighed, not surprised that his own brother hadn't heard him. He was playing one of his superhero games again, and no matter how many times he'd said that he would never go back to that life. It was funny, because in a way, it probably meant that he missed being the hero, no matter how short the enjoyable part was. Alfred would never admit that, though.

There was a knock on the front door. "Mattie, can you get that?" Alfred yelled across the room.

The Canadian sighed again. "Yeah, I got it..." He walked through the living room and answered the door. He seemed to freeze for a second, and slowly said, " Hey, um, Al, I think this one's for you..."

"Um, are you sure about that...? I mean, not that many people come looking for me, you know?" said blond replied shakily.

"I think it's pretty clear he's looking for you..."

"Okay..." Alfred paused his game, stood up, and nervously made his way towards the door. He wasn't surprised to see a certain agent for S.H.I.E.L.D at the doorstep. He straightened up and looked at Agent Fury. "You were looking for me?"

"It's a pleasure to see you after so long, Captain America."

**I ****know ****this ****chapter ****kind ****of ****skipped ****around ****a ****lot****, ****but ****this ****was ****planned ****to ****be ****more ****of ****an ****introductory ****chapter ****for ****the ****story****. ****Thank ****you ****for ****reading****! :****D**


	2. Chapter 2

_"It's a pleasure to see you after so long, Captain America."_

Alfred froze at the mention of his previous alter ego, silently glaring at Nick Fury. One tedious minute of dead air continued as Alfred defended his doorway.

"Um, M-Mr. Fury, you can, uh, come in, er, if you want-" Matthew started, only to receive a less-than-comforting look from the agent,"-s-sir..."

"I'd love to accept your request, Matthew, but your brother here doesn't seem to be having it..."

"Why the hell are you here, Agent Fury?" the mentioned blond asked pleasantly, though with underlying hostility.

However, Fury hardly seemed fazed, standing firmly in his position. "Is it really that bad to be reminded of your past, Alfred?" he smirked.

"I have no idea what you're even talking abou-"

"I have a hard time believing that, Mr. Jones. I do know the truth, even though the common public are still falling for that ludicrous story the media set up for you- they still think you're still frozen somewhere in Antarctica. And besides," he continued,"If you aren't really Steve Rogers, then why act so defensive?"

"I don't like people breaking into my house and accusing me of being someone who shouldn't have even existed, that's all. Now can you just le-"

"Technically, you shouldn't exist either. But you still do, living the way you do, day in, day out, always moving with the times. _Things_ like that shouldn't exist, but they still do, don't they? And why? because that's just the way the world works, Alfred. You, of all people, shouldn't argue against an accusation just because it 'shouldn't exist'."

"I know damn well that something like that doesn't exist." The blonde retorted, unsuccessfully hiding a shudder.

Fury raised an eyebrow. "You just said that Captain America shouldn't have existed, and now you're saying he doesn't exist? Is he real or not?" Alfred looked down. "Or maybe," Fury continued,"you're just saying that Captain America isn't real _right now_? Saying that means you know he was real, only proving my point even further."

"Is there a reason you came?"

Nick smirked. "If there wasn't would I be here right now?"

o~o~o

Alfred sat on the couch opposite their new guest (whom Matthew had finally insisted come in) and leaned back. "So, the Tesseract is missing, huh?" he seemed to look a away pensively. "Why did you have it in the fist place?"

"We need to protect it from being put into the wrong hands. We may have even found a way to create an unlimited power source. Our agents were experimenting on it when it activated, creating a wormhole for Loki to come through and take it."

"Hm." Alfred took a sip from his beer and looked at Fury. "So what would you need me for?"

"You know enough about the Tesseract to be able to help us find it, so we need you on our sid-"

"Did I say anything about picking sides? It's not like I'm going to help you..." Alfred rested his bottle on the table and furrowed his brow as Fury reacted with a look of questionable surprise. "Do you really expect me to go back that quickly, sir? You can't just assume that things are going to go your way because you break into my house-"

"W-we let him in, Al..." Matthew cut in, only heard as a faint whisper to his brother.

"-whatever. I'm not going back, Fury. As much as fighting evil sounds dandy, I don't want to work my ass off only to get kicked out by another organization that only wanted me to get their dirty work done."

"What if we said you were going to be provided with extra help, Mr. Jones?"

"Then they would be better off without me. I haven't done _that_ for years now, I'd be more of a burden than actual help."

The other man shook his head. "This isn't just your normal team of sidekicks, Alfred," he pointed out. "We've found a way to start the Avengers Initiative."

Alfred rolled his eyes. "Enlighten me, please," he taunted.

"We found a way to bring together a group of incredible individuals, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, to work as a team to find the Tesseract and protect it from being used for the wrong purposes. You wouldn't be doing this just for our organization - by doing this, you'd also be protecting the people." Finally, instead of retaliating, Alfred remained silent a knowing glint in his eyes. He didn't seem fully convinced, according to Fury's observations, but at least he had struck a chord in the previous hero, who had diverted his attention towards his apartment floor.

However, in an ever-hesitant voice, Alfred's brother spoke. "Um, sir, I, uh, understand your intentions, but don't think you were there when Alfred was actually a hero... He wasn't very excited at first, but soon he'd gotten used to fighting against evil and protecting others. He really did start feeling heroic, and he was so happy..." the Canadian stole a quick glance at his brother and continued,"But his enthusiasm ran short again after days turned to weeks and years... the war had gotten progressively worse, and it was taking a toll on every one of the nations. Everyone started to see different sides to Alfred... he would constantly go from being as cocky as ever to acting especially agitated... and more often than not, he would just get scared. He was scared for himself, his people, his own well-being... he was becoming something completely different than the blonde, blue-eyed and bushy-tailed guy everyone knew him for being, and he knew it. He spent every ounce of the anger he had left in him protesting to the military, and eventually he just left... And then he vowed not to return to his superhero life again. So um, understand that this is a particularly tough decision you're putting him through..."

The agent nodded as Matthew explained his brother's situation, fitting new information to the story that he had been told. Yet, something still didn't quite fit in... Why would the military just let Alfred run off on his own?

"So, when did Alfred give up his alter ego?"

"March of '45," Alfred cut in, as if it was written on the back of his hand. But his tone suggested that it wasn't a happy memory, saying it almost like a broken wind-up doll, wearing him own more each time he said it.

March of 1945... only months before the end of World War II. If his facts were correct, there was a prototype meant to be used by the U.S. Military as the ultimate weapon...

Alfred spoke again. "My opinion hasn't changed... I just can't do this thing anymore. I'd rather stay here than have to face that again..."

Fury stood. "I understand. Sorry for disturbing you Alfred... Matthew." he said, looking at each sibling. "I respect your opinions, but I must say it is quite the disappointment."

Matthew exchanged lightly shocked expressions for a quick moment, but he quickly stood to take Fury to the front door. "Sorry to waste your time, Agent Fury..." he whispered, shocked to receive a mystery object from said agent. Curious, he looked up, only to be returned with an all-knowing smirk.

"It's no problem," he stated, then said in the direction of the living room, "For the record, Mr. Jones, that ultimate killing machine never worked. It might comfort you to know that it's considered one of the U.S. Military's biggest technological failure of modern times." Alfred quickly straightened from his hunched position, ready to say something, but before getting to reply, Fury had closed the door and left.

"That was intense..." Alfred slowly said to re-establish the mood. "I'm pretty tired now..."

"It definitely was pretty intense" his brother agreed as he made his way from the front door. En route to the kitchen, Matthew discreetly slid Nick Fury's mystery paper to Alfred over the coffee table. "I guess that means you have a lot to sleep on." Alfred gently unfolded the paper, nearly dropping it as he disclosed what was previously hidden but careful creasing.

He wasn't sure what to do at first, but when Mattie was back around the corner in their miniscule shared kitchen, Alfred hastily stuffed Nick Fury's unfurled business card in his shirt pocket.

**Hello all! I just wanted to say thanks for all the positive feedback! All f your reviews, follows, favorites, etc. make my day and have inspired me to get this chapter out as quickly as I could.**

**Now some important stuff - I may not be updating as often as I would like to because I have literally just started school again and I have some things to catch up with, so bear with me. I will still update ASAP, but updates may come somewhat slower in the future (that's also the reason why this chapter was a little bit late ^^)**

**Again, a special thanks to all those who left me feedback, and don't be shy if you have any issues in the story so far~**


	3. Chapter 3

**Just to kind of set this up, this story happens along the movie timeline for the most part, ****_but_**** will be changed in other parts for the purposes of this story. If that gives you any idea of setting :)**

* * *

"How is Agent Romanoff's mission going so far, Agent Hill?" Nick Fury asked, pacing S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters. The Avengers Initiative was a risky plan, and it depended upon everyone's cooperation for it to continue successfully.

Maria Hill only looked up at her screen again as she answered."Everything seems to be working well as planned, but we've given her back up if she needs it. Agent Coulson just left for Stark Towers."

The older man nodded slowly in thought. "He may be a tougher case, and we need to get through to him eventually..."

"Are you referring to Alfred as well?" Originally, he was thinking of Tony, but the same applied for Alfred. Both essential parts of the project who were loud, rather obnoxious, and stubborn. "Both of them," he replied, realizing how much of a headache he was bound to get from sticking around the two of them for too long.

"And you're sure every one will agree to be a part of this? Not everyone's on the same page yet, and they might not come around."

"They'll come," the commander said, exiting the room, "If we want this plan to work, that's what we're going to have to assume."

o~o~o

"It's still weird how S.H.I.E.L.D.'s reviving the Avengers Initiative now of all times..." came a male voice whose face was masked by various screens surrounding him.

Pepper Potts sighed. "Didn't Phil just brief you?"

"Yeah, but it's still funny how all of a sudden they got us running on a wild goose chase to find that thing," Tony, who stiffened at Pepper's use of Agent's first name, added. "Why was research being done on it anyway? This thing's gone so S.H.I.E.L.D. all of a sudden brings back this project and dumps the research on me..."

"Not just you," Pepper added while looking at her own screen.

"Right, now I'm a Sailor Scout..." Pepper shot Stark a questioning look. "I-it's a side thing, okay?"

Flustered, he looked at each Avenger's profile and continued, "You'd think they would give me more info on some of these people. Banner's is pretty straightforward, but this Captain guy is something else... no current status, no background, it's like they're purposefully withholding this kind of stuff, and that's not exactly like S.H.I.E.L.D..."

"They recovered him from that crash in Antarctica?"

"I guess, but there's very vague details. And it seems like no one else has really questioned the information displayed. It looks kind of like a cover up story, but for what?"

"To me it sounds like a very loosely done cover, so maybe the reason for it is meant to be found out."

Tony paced back and forth. "If they mean for this to be found out eventually, why cover it up now? Does... uh, Steve..." he leaned over the screen to read his real name, "even know about this? They might expose whatever they know about him, and he might not cooperate anymore..."

"I think you're over analyzing things. First of all, you're not supposed to be stalking your teammates, you're supposed to be looking through Selvig's research . If what you're saying is true, you will probably find out what's happening with Captain America eventually, and then you can ask questions." Tony pouted and kept the profiles open.

"Research," Pepper repeated, "Now."

o~o~o

Arthur relaxed in his chair at the world meeting and drummed his fingers against the table. Francis was at the head of the table now, droning on about new policies or something of the like (Arthur tuned out after his first few sentences). His seat was towards the back of the table, next to a picturesque window view of New York City. It was Alfred's turn to host the world meeting, and (though he would never admit it) Arthur enjoyed being in New York quite a lot, and he'd been looking forward to having the meeting here.

"Angleterre? Were you even listening to me?" Francis's voice came in again, and he tuned to face the Frenchman. "Er... um, yeah... I agree," he muttered, holding back a yawn.

"Dude, are you okay? You seem out of it..." Alfred said, though his own voice sounded less enthusiastic.

"Just a bit of jet lag, that's all... at least you've finally said something," Arthur retorted, but automatically feeling guilty when he looked at America's face. Dark circles rounded his eyes and his hair lay messy and loosely combed. Even Nantucket was bent out of place. "Really, though, are you okay"

Alfred sighed and stood up, now that Francis had finished speaking. "Um, I, uh, have something to say..." he started. Taking in everyone else's sudden silence as approval, he continued, "So, some things came up with, um, the government, and, uh, I decided that I'm going to stick around here and help out a little. I can't really say what that is, but..." he looked down kind of sadly, "I just wanted to let you guys know that I'll be gone for a while, so don't freak out, okay?"

"What would we freak out about exactly?" Ivan asked in a sickeningly pleasant tone.

"I don't know, my extensive missing-ness? Word would probably get around to some of you guys eventually..."

Kiku looked somewhat disappointed. "And what if it doesn't?"

Alfred's eyes wandered desperately for a second before locking on the table below. "Then that probably means it'll be too late."

Arthur stood up worriedly. "What do you mean, 'too late'? How is this government problem going to kill you? Don't just say that you're leaving and ready to die like that! Besides, not even that many things can kill u-" All eyes were on the blonde as he froze mid-sentence, only to drop back into his chair and rest his hands on his forehead. Everyone seemed to catch on, but Francis spoke first.

"A-are you sure you're ready to handle _that?_ ...Think about what happened last time..."

"I've already decided... if I didn't do this then there would be a greater possibility that a hell of a lot of people more important than me would die..."

"Are you really going to put your life at risk because of that?! What if this is a scam?!" Yao nearly yelled.

"Just like the last time?" Alfred snapped, silencing the rest of the conference room. "I've been tricked before. I know that. And if they're using me again this time, fine. I'm doing this only because I don't want to sit around and wait for things to happen while I'm doing nothing. I want to actually help out instead of standing idly for the past several years!"

Arthur looked down. He knew as well as the others in the room that what Alfred was saying was true, that the feeling of the rest of time moving on without you wasn't an easy burden to bear. He was worried for Alfred's own well being, but also knew that he needed an outlet after seeing him deteriorate from his former glory over half a century ago.

"Fie," he muttered, looking at the window again,"If you think you need to do this, go ahead. All i'm concerned with is if you're doing it for the government or yourself."

It took a while for the American to answer, but eventually he found his voice again.

"I'm doing it for me. I need to move on."

And for once Arthur agreed.

* * *

**Okay! Now for some important stuff! More than one person asked what pairings will be in this (sorry if I didn't name you but I think some were guests so I couldn't really reply). I love both USUK and Stony, so I'm probably going to include both of those later on. Again, this isn't a story too focused on pairings, so don't get ready for smut or anything. Maybe some fluff, but that's it. And other pairings for each fandom may be hinted at. **

**On another note, I'm open for any questions and stuff about the story, but if you're a guest or you're not logged in, you might have to wait for notes like these to actually get replies, so it might not be the most efficient. If you have a question that you'd really really _really_ had to ask (and if you have an account, which you probably should) maybe log in and PM/comment? I just think it would be easier to communicate that way, so yeah!**

**And honestly. I am trying to shorten these. I'm so sorry I tend to ramble. Please review :)**


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